Farmers in Ionia County eligible for conservation assistance

Farmers in Ionia and 20 other Michigan counties can apply for financial assistance to help reduce greenhouse gases by planting cover crops and implementing new nutrient management practices.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has $450,000 in conservation funding available for the greenhouse gas initiative in Michigan. Farmers in eligible counties can apply for the financial assistance that will pay a portion of the cost for planting cover crops and adopting nutrient management practices.

A cover crop is a plant grown between two harvestable crops, such as corn and soybeans, that is not going to be harvested, said John Durling, agronomist at the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service's Rose Lake Plant Materials Center.

"In Ionia County, wheat is harvested in July. If a farmer in rotation grows wheat and then corn, it's nine or 10 months until the corn is planted. That is a perfect opportunity for a cover crop, which might be red clover or oilseed radish," Durling said. "The cover crop is not grown for harvest, but for the environmental benefits."

According to the Midwest Cover Crops Council (MCCC), cover crops used in crop rotation can help reduce soil erosion and increase nutrient recycling on farmlands, which decreases the amount of soil and nutrients entering lakes and waterways.

Now scientists also are finding evidence that diversifying crop rotations with cover crops can reduce residual soil nitrate and mitigate the emission of greenhouse gases significantly.

"A cover crop is mostly carbon, so rather than that being out in the atmosphere as a greenhouse gas, it becomes part of the crop," Durling said. "When it decays, it goes into the soil, so it is taken out of circulation."

A farmer could plow the cover crop under, timing it just right, so there will be "a smooth hand-off" of nutrients to the subsequent corn crop when it needs them, he said.

Cover cropping has been used in Michigan for more than a century – Durling's great-grandfather used cover crops, he said, calling the practice's benefits "incontrovertible" and "intuitive."

"In Ionia County, if we have something growing from mid-July to sometime in May, the soil there is less apt to erode. We also know cover crops increase organic matter, and there are lots of benefits from that. Cover crops either recycle or hold on to nutrients – there is no question about that," he said. "We also know that red clover and other legumes take nitrogen out of the air and (absorb it) into the plants, (which then becomes) available to the (soil)."

Farmers can purchase nitrogen fertilizer, or can apply manure or compost, or can let cover crops take care of those responsibilities," Durling added.

"Most farms are going to employ two or three of those strategies simultaneously, because they are proven practices," he said.

Red clover has been used as a cover crop for many years. Oilseed radish is a newer addition, Durling said. To find out the best cover crop for an individual circumstance, he recommended visiting the MCCC Web site, www.mccc.msu.edu, and click on its Cover Crop Selector Tool.

"You can put in Ionia County and what crop is being grown, something about the soil type and what you want the cover crop to do for you, and it will give you some possibilities based on what you would grow in that window," he said.

To be considered for funding for the greenhouse gas initiative, farmers must submit an application at their local USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service office by April 15. Successful applicants will receive a defined payment after the conservation practice is implemented.

More information about USDA Greenhouse Gas conservation assistance is available at local USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service offices or online at www.mi.nrcs.usda.gov. A list of NRCS offices in Michigan is posted online at www.mi.nrcs.usda.gov/contact/Field%20Offices.html.

The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service helps America's farmers and ranchers conserve the nation's soil, water, air and other natural resources. All programs are voluntary and offer science-based solutions that benefit both the landowner and the environment.